Possibly the most prominent character the 1991 movie, Father of the Bride, was the wedding planner, Franck Eggelhoffer, played by Martin Short.

His garbled East European accent, combined with his camp flair, made the job of organising the biggest day in the life of two people, seem like, well, a piece of wedding cake.

But don’t let Franck’s apparent cool deceive you. It has to be a facade. People hire wedding planners because they want to pass the stress that comes with arranging the grandest day of their lives onto someone else. Namely you.

The stress factor is the first point I am going to address. Most people taking a job, any job, are concerned about the amount of stress that is likely to be involved. So if any level of stress bothers you, this not is the career for you.

First up are you dealing with the actual stress of organising the event. Why, oh why, isn’t the preferred church free on the preferred day while the preferred venue is?

Then you are also dealing with the “second hand” stress from the couple-to-be. Why, oh why, isn’t the preferred church free on the preferred day while the preferred venue is?

But if the stress isn’t a downside, then the fact that you, as a wedding planner, never quite take full control of proceedings, may be. Organising someone else’s wedding is like minding someone else’s child; in other words it’s never completely your baby.

Being a wedding planner will also test a number of your skills, possibly some you never knew you had before.

You are not just an organiser, you are also a negotiator, a motivator, an inspiration, a magician (should either the preferred church or preferred venue be unavailable), an enforcer, (should either the preferred church or preferred venue be unavailable) and a shoulder to cry on (should either the preferred church or preferred venue be unavailable).

It is also something of thankless job. If all goes well it is remembered as [insert married couple's names here] wedding, whereas if it all goes horribly wrong, guess whose fault it is. By the way, if things don’t quite go according to plan, you may wish to consider the services of a Spin doctor!

Let’s not dwell too much on the negatives though.

If it’s prestige you want, then yes, you have probably come to the right place. Chances are one of your quality crafted weddings will make the social pages of the Sunday papers, and maybe even grace a glossy gossip mag or two.

And if it’s money you want, then again, you have hit a home run. You should be able to turn a half decent profit, and enjoy the domicile of a lavish office (much in the style of Franck Eggelhoffer and associates) since you can take advantage of inflated mark ups whenever the word “wedding” is mentioned.

Oh, and one other thing, just as doctors should never treat their own ailments, wedding planners should not organise their own weddings. Having arranged so many others, the pressure on you to make yours the “best ever” could be unbearable.

If I were you, I’d consider eloping and marrying in the presence of a Justice of the Peace on a secluded beach somewhere. Makes sense, I once knew a wedding planner who said she couldn’t stand crowds!